Buying a Mobile Home in Maine

Our tour across America continues this week. Last week it gave us some great information about Buying a Mobile Home in Iowa and this week its back to the East coast to talk about Buying a Mobile Home in Maine.

Mobile Home Living in Maine By the Numbers

Maine is home to over 1.3 Million people, according to the 2017 Census, with 11% of those people living in mobile/manufactured homes. Some other facts that Mobile Home Village shares about Maine include:

The average price of a pre-owned home: $73,417

The average model year of a pre-owned home: 2005

Average square feet of a pre-owned home: 1134

Average number of sites in a mobile home community: 92

The average year a community was developed: 1976

Number of age-restricted communities: 19

The number of all age communities: 127

The Process of Buying a Mobile Home in Maine

Buying Resources

If you are purchasing a new mobile home, it’s important to know who you are doing business with. Be sure to visit the Maine Manufactured Home Association site for a current list of manufacturers, dealers, lenders, and communities that are in good standing with the association. If you have a question regarding anything mobile home related, they are the #1 resource to help find you the answer you are looking for.

Titling Requirements

The law for titling mobile homes in Maine is a little different than in some of the other states. According to AAA Digest of Motor Laws, it is as follows:

Mobile homes are exempt from titling if they are model year 2006 or older, multi-sectional, state-certified modular homes, or permanently affixed to real property owned by the owner of the mobile home within 30 days of the date of sale.

So, that would mean that the main type of mobile home that is subject to titling is a single wide home that is placed in a mobile home community or a leased lot. A copy of the title application is below and can be found through the Maine DMV. A fee of $33.00 is required, payable to the state. If you are purchasing new, your dealer will usually handle titling for you. Just make sure to ask before you close on the home.

A look at the title application.

Maine’s HUD Manufactured Home Dispute Resolution Program

The state of Maine administers its own dispute resolution program, in line with the federal guidelines set by HUD. It is through the Manufactured Housing Board, a division of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. They also handle all licensing of all manufacturers, dealers, and installers within the state. You can reach them by contacting them at:

Robert LeClair, Executive DirectorMaine Manufactured HousingDepartment of Professional and Financial Regulations35 State House StationAugusta, ME 04333-0035PH: (207) 624-8612FAX: (207) 624-8637

This is a look at the complaint form that can be submitted to the state if you haven’t been able to resolve your mobile home issue with the dealer or manufacturer:

The explanation for filling out the complaint form.

Required info for the complaint form.

Be very specific when listing issues.

A Look at Mobile Home Living in Maine

When we think of Maine, we think of lighthouses and lobsters. However, when we started to explore some of the awesome mobile/manufactured homes that can be found in the state, we realized that it should also be known for tiny home living! With over 400 mobile homes listed on Zillow, at least 100 of them were awesome tiny homes, such as the Park Model and Woodland Park Homes. Here are just a few of the homes we found online: